Aishwarya Rai

Vikram, who makes his debut alongside Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the three versions of Raavan in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu (the dubbed version), got to share the most daunting experiences in the jungles of Kerala including dancing high above water-level on very slippery rocks.

Says Vikram, “Yes, it was quite an experience. I’m a good fighter, but not quite the dancer. I’ve always felt that Madhuri Dixit was the best dancer ever. But then, I saw how Aishwarya held her own in Devdas. I thought it was fantastic. So, while shooting for Raavan, I just forgot my own steps and kept staring. Every hero from the south wants to work with her at some point in his career.

I got my opportunity finally. It’s wonderful that I’m making my Hindi debut with her. It’s strange how every Miss World and Miss Universe enters movies.

But who has had the lingering impact of Aishwarya? She has some kind of an enduring aura. Over the years, she has really evolved as an actor.”

Vikram says Aishwarya is a hero in Raavan. “There are three main characters, Abhishek, Aishwarya and me. I’ve done a lot of tortuous sequences in the past. But this one takes the cake and the ache. And Aishwarya suffered all the wounds, pain, fever and insect bites heroically in the forest. For all the dangerous scenes, she hardly ever used a dupe. She was totally up to the task, though she fell ill quite a few times.”

Playing Aishwarya’s noble husband in the Hindi version and then the dark outlaw who kidnaps her in Tamil was not easy for Vikram. “And we had to do it in two consecutive shots,” he explains, “It was very exciting for me. When you see Raavan in two languages, you wouldn’t recognise me as the same person in both. I had to change my body language and look completely. Even in Anniyan, I tried various looks. It comes from my drama background in school.”

Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s forthcoming film Action Replayy promises to take the audience down memory lane.

Following news that one of Akshay’s dance numbers in the film will instantly remind the audience of John Travolta in the 1977 hit Saturday Night Fever.

The latest buzz around the film is a special song based on the romance between some of the most popular Bollywood jodis of the 1970s.

The song, which is yet to be shot at the end of this month in Manali, will have Akshay and Aishwarya teasing each other, vintage style.

A source said, “This is Akshay’s biggest release before Tees Maar Khan and director-producer Vipul Shah wants the film to touch everybody’s heart. The song is a tribute to the leading Bollywood couples of the 1970s and will highlight their romance.
The five couples whom Akshay and Aishwarya will pay a tribute to in the five-minute song will be Amitabh-Jaya, Dharmendra-Hema, Rishi-Neetu, Rajesh-Mumtaz and Shashi-Parveen.”

The song, composed by Pritam, has lyrics which goes something like: “Nakhre nakhre nakhre, nakhre hain naatak re, nakhre nakhre nakhre tu peeche hi rakh re“. “Since the film has a retro feel, Akshay and Aishwarya will be dressed just like these legendary couples did in their films. The unit is currently planning how to choreograph the song,” added the source.

Vipul Shah confirmed the news and said, “This song, which will be shot in Manali, starts in a playful manner and then goes on to salute the stylish romance that was a trademark of the 1970s.”

The latest buzz doing the rounds in bolly circles is that the film Raavana’s director Mani Ratnam had taken a real life like shot in one of the scenes, which nearly froze the unit due to fright for a moment.

It so happened that the director, who had undergone a bomb scare in real life, when a bomb was hurled at him and luckily it burst in mid air just before it reached him, wanted to incorporate this particular scene in his film “Raavana”.

Now, the two leads that is, Aishwarya Rai and the south star Vikram, were to be the ones to be attacked with the bomb. For the shoot, a petrol bomb was to be used, this had to be hurled from a distance of 25 feet, and it was supposed to burst mid air just 15 feet from where the stars were.

This bit of the scene was to be done with utmost accuracy. As everyone on the sets, including the action director were quite tensed, the leading actors, Aishwarya and Vikram, very bravely enacted the scene. The action master also had done the required act perfectly; the bomb exploded exactly the way the director wanted it to.

The actors braved it out and no one had the guts to say that they would not be able to do the stunt scene, out of fear, as no one wanted to upset the respected director’s wish.

However, since the shot has already been Okayed, it remains to be seen how effective it will be for the film.

Even though Aishwarya Rai has often been termed as “plastic” by some (Huh!), there is no iota of doubt that Aishwarya Rai’s beauty is all natural and god-gifted.

It has often been claimed that Aishwarya is probably the only actress who has got best features and that too, perfect. She has often been termed as the most beautiful woman of the world.

Bollywood actress, “Priyanka Chopra” once commented that she thinks god was on a vacation when he made Aishwarya, whereas We, the mortals, were made in a day. This complement itself speaks volumes about the beauty of this gorgeous lady who is now married to actor Abhishek Bacchan.

In fact, her hubby, in an interview claimed that she looks as much perfect when she gets up in the morning after the night’s sleep, as when she is making people drooling by appearing in front of the camera.

She did a non glamorous role in a Bengali film called “Chokher Bali” where she was draped in a white sari for most of the time. Even though she was not allowed to wear make-up, the beautiful lady looked absolute fresh and radiant in the movie.

She earned much critical acclaim and praise for her role as a widow in the movie. The ravishing beauty was ready to go without make-up once again in the film “Provoked” and received rave reviews for her role of a battered housewife.

Bollywood today has very strict notions of what is beautiful and what is not. Actresses today don’t think twice to get under the knife to get that very perfect look. Even though the results have been disastrous in case of some actresses, the popularity of cosmetic surgery has not diminished even a bit.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, on the other hand, can be an example of how a natural beauty can be so stunning. She is 36 today, but does not look like. She has maintained herself well and her still gives off the same radiance and warmth even after so many years.

Love you, always!!!!!

The summer sun has begun beating down relentlessly and the long shooting schedules have become a sweaty, tiring affair for actors and crew members. However, while shooting for director Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s film Action Replayy with Akshay Kumar, the film’s leading actress Aishwarya Rai seemed unconcerned about the heat even though everyone on the sets sweated buckets.

The director was obviously curious to know Ash’s secret of beating the heat, and find it out he did. The secret was Ash’s mama Vrinda Rai’s homemade recipe – kokum juice. Yes, Ash’s mother would visit the movie’s sets with a pitcher of kokum juice for the actress. It worked wonders in fighting the heat.

“The only person who would be completely unaffected with the heat was Ash. That’s when we all realized about her kokum juice,” Shah is quoted as saying. Once the secret was out everyone wanted a glass of the heat-beater juice. And Ash’s ma would gladly distribute it among the crew.

That’s right, you heard it. Now get relief from summer’s heat and have Kokum juice for yourself. So many people can’t be wrong

My thanks to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Vrinda Rai for such an easy way out to beat the heat! Phew!!!!